FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
Heriberto Hernández (OF Marlins): Rostered in 11 percent of Yahoo leagues
Although he did a nice job in 87 games as a 25-year-old rookie in 2025, expectations weren't high for Hernández coming into 2026. The Marlins planned to play him mostly against lefties and then wound up sending him down at the end of April after he opened the year 10-for-63 with no homers. As it turned out, it was only the briefest of stints in Triple-A. Hernández returned on May 7 and has since hit .275/.325/.588 with 13 homers in 55 games. He's been an everyday player the last three weeks with Owen Caissie hurt.
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Hernández's exit velocity numbers have been pretty impressive all along; he currently boasts a 93rd percentile hard-hit rate and an 86th percentile barrel rate. He does swing and miss plenty, and his production has tailed off some of late during the Marlins' 12-game losing streak, which ended Monday, but the total package still looks pretty good. A nice surprise is that he's gone 7-for-9 stealing bases (plus 3-for-3 in his five Triple-A games). He has plenty of speed — he's in the 86th percentile in sprint speed — but he never stole more than seven bases in seven minor league seasons.
Caissie will soon return from his calf strain to start against right-handers, which could negatively affect Hernández's playing time. The Marlins, though, might want to send down Jakob Marsee to make room for Caissie. It's also quite possible they'll trade a bat before the deadline, keeping things open for Hernández to continue to play regularly. That they're hitting him third even against right-handers at the moment seems like a good sign.
Andrew Vaughn (1B Brewers): Rostered in 23 percent of Yahoo leagues
Sometimes procrastination pays off, such as when you're slow writing your Waiver Wire article because it's 85 degrees in your office and you find out at 5:50 p.m. EDT, a time by which you've typically posted said article, that Jake Bauers has a fractured toe after fouling a pitch off himself during Monday's game. That definitely makes it time to add Andrew Vaughn in all leagues in which he's available.
Just by observing his .310/.391/.491 line, it seems obvious that Vaughn should have been playing regularly for the Brewers already. However, he has really taken to his platoon role this year, hitting an incredible .379/.474/.667 versus lefties but a far more modest .267/.336/.381 against righties. He had rather normal splits over the course of his career coming into the season; his career OPS was .787 against lefties and .702 versus righties, and Vaughn seems like an improved player on the whole, even if it's mostly showing up against lefties. For instance, his strikeout rate this year against righties is just 14 percent, down from 21 percent for his career. He's also sacrificed very little bat speed in greatly improving his strikeout and walk rate. It seems like he should be just fine as a regular.
Vaughn might only be a short-term pickup, depending on how much time Bauers misses, but regularly batting in the middle of one of the league's most productive lineups should make him particularly valuable for the short term. Bauers' injury might also make Luis Lara relevant in mixed leagues for a spell until Sal Frelick returns.
Michael Petersen (RP Marlins): Rostered in seven percent of Yahoo Leagues
With the Marlins likely to sell and Pete Fairbanks certainly one of their first choices to go, Petersen makes for a worthy stash. The journeyman has emerged as the team's top setup man with Anthony Bender hurt and is up to 17 holds for a team whose closer has just 13 saves. A 17th-rounder in the 2015 draft who didn't reach the majors for the first time until 2024, Petersen has busted out at age 32, posting a 2.84 ERA and a 29 percent strikeout rate in 44 1/3 innings out of the Marlins pen. He has a 1.84 ERA in his last 20 appearances.
If there's an issue with picking up Petersen at this point, besides the seemingly minor forearm contusion he suffered Sunday, it's the possibility that no contender will want Fairbanks. Still, the Marlins will probably pay down his salary (he has about $5 million left on his $13 million contract) in order to make something happen. Fairbanks has a hideous 7.18 ERA this season, but his strikeout rate stands at 30 percent, and his velocity has held steady from last year, when he had a 2.83 ERA for the Rays. A deal should happen, putting Petersen in line for saves at least until Bender gets back. Bender, out since the end of June with a stress reaction in his shin, is back throwing and might return in mid-August. Still, he's probably a trade candidate, too, in spite of the injury. After all, he has a 2.35 ERA since the start of 2025, and the big contenders are all about loading up on relief arms for October.
Of course, Petersen could always go, too. That he's making the minimum and won't even be arbitration eligible next year means the Marlins are under zero pressure to move him. However, given his age, they'll surely be open to the possibility if the right offer come along. Those looking for saves could always try waiting and seeing what happens at the deadline before making a move here. However, Petersen has been effective enough that he might not last in the free agent pool.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
- Pittsburgh's Mason Montgomery almost got the RP slot over Peterson, and he is probably the better use of a roster spot at this very moment. However, there's a good chance the Pirates will pick up a veteran closer-type reliever before the deadline. It's probably for the best, since Montgomery is the team's best weapon to come in and face tough lefties prior to the ninth.
- Two Orioles position players were also considered here, but while I was originally leaning towards featuring Christian Encarnacion-Strand, the team just kept him out of the lineup for a second straight game on Tuesday. A .370/.414/.741 line with three homers in seven games hasn't earned him much just yet. Dylan Beavers might make more sense as a pickup at the moment, as the Orioles have him leading off against righties. He's not going to excel in any one category, but he can do a little bit of everything if the playing time is there. Unfortunately, though, he has been caught on three of his four steal attempts while batting .298/.377/.362 in 53 plate appearances this month.
